I haven't had many run-ins with with rabid vegans, but there does seem to be a number of them out there. Their fervour smells to me of the need to have their beliefs validated.

I've broken bread with vegetarians and for the most part they can relate their choices with humour and humility. The more extreme rants have come from vegans--demanding that all food in a gathering be vegetarian: "how would you like it if I slaughtered a baby and started eating it in front of you?".

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.
- Voltaire

I've kind of fallen out of using the forum, but, this came up on my facebook.
As a vegan involved in this very meaty sport I thought I'd throw in some thoughts.

A lot of vegans don't associate or agree with PETA. PETA is like the Westboro Baptist Church of animal rights.

I, and many other vegans I know, believe veganism to be a privilege of our industrial/post industrial society. It's a decision based on our moral qualms over the way that this food is acquired. In a hypothetical hunter gatherer situation I would obviously not be vegan. Or if I was in a pre-industrial or 3rd world situation, being vegan is obviously a big privilege

I also think that vegans that spend time arguing over technicalities in digestion, the shape of our teeth, certain societies or animals having vegan friendly diets etc etc... lose sight of the fact that it ends up being a personal choice to ease your own moral dilemmas. Being part of the 1st world, if you care to notice, comes with some questionable practices.

But, by all means, make fun of PETA, hippies, 40 year old Buddhist liberals . I do.

Originally Posted by meataxe

I haven't had many run-ins with with rabid vegans, but there does seem to be a number of them out there. Their fervour smells to me of the need to have their beliefs validated.

I've broken bread with vegetarians and for the most part they can relate their choices with humour and humility. The more extreme rants have come from vegans--demanding that all food in a gathering be vegetarian: "how would you like it if I slaughtered a baby and started eating it in front of you?".

Apparently there is a different breed of vegan out there that I have not encountered. This is an interesting revelation to me.

Oh, and thank you for your kind words regarding the Meat Plan. It's been a hobby of mine since around 2000, although I am currently out of vegetarians. Broke my last meat-hating friend about 2 years ago. (He's where the portabella refinement came from. May he never find this thread.) I kind of miss it, but the plan has served me well.

Diets like religion they are best keep to yourself. I don't really give a flying **** what you eat and I dam sure don't care what god you worship. Keep that **** to yourself and don't tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing I made it 41 years on Raviloli white bread coke and cigerettes I'm pretty sure I will make it another 40.

I enjoy telling vegans and soy lovers in general that they are destroying the Amazon river and should be ashamed of themselves. Most don't get it right away but all it takes is a google search to crush their idealist dreams like a fair trade grape.

As for the factory farming issues I went the other way and have been developing my own hobby farm. I've raised and killed turkey and geese for dinner, I wanna add a small flock of chickens soon. I have a lot of fruit and veggies growing and I get raw milk from my own goats. I am also test cropping cereal crops this year.

When I hit the idealists with that info they find themselves unable to mount a useful argument against my lifestyle choice over theirs except to point out that I have to work a lot harder for my food. I just point out that with all that meat and fresh healthy food I have pleanty of energy to work.